Sky Bet Championship weekend preview

No side has accumulated more points from their last 10 Sky Bet Championship games than Watford, who can go top of the tree this weekend with a win at Wolverhampton Wanderers.

The Hornets will be relying on a slip-up from leaders Middlesbrough, and hope they at least out-score second-placed Derby County, to ensure a return to the summit for the first time in four months.

Watford's latest haul of wins have come against Rotherham United, Leeds United and Fulham, meaning they’ve jumped from sixth, where they've been for 11 matchdays this term, to third, and level on points with the Rams, who sit in the second automatic promotion place.

Wolves have also been picking up the wins of late - four in their last six - but a midweek defeat to Bournemouth halted their charge towards the Play-Offs.

Kenny Jackett’s men are just four points off the top six, however, and could move to within a point of Brentford, who occupy the last of those places, with a win at Molineux on Saturday.

Benik Afobe and Bakary Sako are the in-form duo for Wolves having hit seven goals between them in their last four matches, while Troy Deeney is Watford’s man of the moment, with three goals in as many games.

PUSHING FOR THE PLAY-OFFS

Ipswich Town v Brentford

Ipswich Town have dropped out the Sky Bet Championship Play-Off places for the first since early November following back-to-back defeats, but they can make an immediate return this weekend when they take on Brentford.

Those two defeats came within four days of each other, against East Anglian rivals Norwich City on Sunday and Leeds United on Wednesday.

Their weekend opponents Brentford sit in the last of the Play-Off spots – sixth - one point clear of the Tractor Boys. They’ve also fell out of the top six in recent weeks, but three wins from their last four, the latest of which came against Huddersfield Town, has seen them back in the mix.

Chris Long and Jon Toral have been in a rich vein of goalscoring form of late, notching seven between them in those three wins that saw the Bees net 11 times.

The reverse meeting between these two sides, on Boxing Day, also produced a few goals. That afternoon it was Ipswich who took the points in a 4-2 win, courtesy of goals from Daryl Murphy (2), Paul Anderson and Tommy Smith, with Sam Saunders scoring twice for Brentford.

REDEMTION RIVALS

Cardiff City v Charlton Athletic

Cardiff City and Charlton Athletic have both experienced an upturn of fortunes of late and the pair meet in South Wales on Saturday.

The Bluebirds ended a nine-game winless run at the back end of February when they beat Wigan Athletic 1-0, and recorded a second consecutive away win seven days ago, against Rotherham United.

If Cardiff’s recent revival has been impressive, then Charlton’s has been nothing short of extraordinary. The Addicks ended their run of 14 games without victory last month, and have since made it four wins from their last five. The last of those came on Tuesday night, when Guy Luzon’s men inflicted a first defeat in the managerial reign of Dougie Freedman at Nottingham Forest.

Cardiff and Charlton are separated by a single point in the Championship standings, with the latter two places above, in 12th, but that would change should Russell Slade’s side record victory this weekend.

AROUND THE GROUNDS

AFC Bournemouth have the chance to return to the Sky Bet Championship table on Friday night when they face Fulham at Craven Cottage, to kick-off the weekend's Football League schedule.

The Cherries currently sit fourth, three points adrift of leaders Middlesbrough, but can go top with a win due to their superior goal difference. Eddie Howe's side beat Wolves 2-1 last time out after five winless matches, while the Cottagers are down in 20th after one success in eight.

Rotherham United, Wigan Athletic, Millwall and Blackpool are the four sides below Fulham in the standings and they are all in action on Saturday.

The Millers are out of the bottom three by six points despite losing three of their last four, ahead of a trip to Huddersfield Town, who have suffered back-to-back losses, conceding seven goals.

Wigan are leading the chase to climb out of the relegation zone after two wins in two, including an impressive midweek triumph at Norwich City, and they host mid-table Leeds United.

Millwall are also six points off safety prior to their home game against Norwich City, but the Lions approach the fixture on a wretched run of form which has seen them pick up only one point from the last 15 available to them.

At the same time, Norwich have been flying and had won six on the spin before their defeat to Wigan on Wednesday. The Canaries' form during February saw boss Alex Neil collect the Sky Bet Championship Manager of the Month award.

Blackpool are nine points behind Millwall and Wigan, and a hefty 15 from safety going into their match with Sheffield Wednesday. Lee Clark's side have lost five of seven games without a victory, while the Owls were defeated by Blackburn last time out after previously winning two in a row.

Birmingham were the most recent team to see off the rock-bottom Tangerines and they face second-placed Derby, who have suffered back-to-back defeats for only the second time this season, to fall behind Middlesbrough in the race for promotion.